Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Noah Markowicz (Dr. Dreidel) and I are doing a new night at Korova on Tuesdays. The concept is music before 1986, hence <86. Come down to Korova Bar (3908 St. Laurent) and check it out. Rotating guests, free mix-tapes!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

I was on a casual stroll down Van Horne avenue earlier this afternoon, on the hunt for a coffee, when I came across a giant Saint Bernard tied to a telephone pole outside of a grocery store. This Saint Bernard was at least the size of a pony, and therefore, I would imagine as ride-able as a pony. ("Can I ride a dog?," I thought. "Can I ride that dog?") It struck me that if one could somehow combined the ride-ability of the pony or horse with the love-ability and trustworthiness of the dog, well then, that ambitious breeder or marketer or trainer or what not would really have something. A dog-pony. A dog you can ride. Dogs you can ride. Ride-able dogs. Man's best friend, and man's best ride. Equestrianism has a whiff of hide-bound tradition and the static class society, not suitable for the democratic ethos of The New World, but dog-riding has the potential to be an accessible and affordable form of animal riding, if only someone were to step up and fulfill the need!

The riding animal or mount animal has been a part of civilization since the, er, dawn of civilization, and possibly before - from the Hindu & Buddhist Garuda (or Garula): a winged mythological creature; to ostriches, dromedaries, and elephants.

This sadistic little book cover above is, of course, nothing like what I was imagining in my head, and the image of a maniacal, wild-eyed cat driving a poor hound into the ground by the handle of his switch belongs to a different time, when peace between species was not so close at hand, as it is now, in the year 2008.

For years, clueless Irish Wolfhound owners* have done nothing but stand their Irish Wolfhounds on their hind legs to pose for illustrations, paintings or photographs, trying to prove some inane point about their dog's size, unaware of how much more impressive it would be to come trotting down main street astride their majestic beast. And for the Irish Wolf Hound? No more demeaning parlour tricks, no, the Irish Wolf Hound could hold head high, becoming part of a lineage that includes the mighty stallion and the regal elephant.

Do any of you know of any dogs that might be suitable for riding? Interested breeders, please get in touch. Can you ride a dog? Have you rode a dog before? Are you interested in buying a dog saddle?

I can and will ride a dog. I swear this now. Certain larger canines (Newfoundlanders, Dog of Berdoux, Bull Mastiffs) have been fitted with saddles like majestic mini-horses for the infirm, very young children, and certain elderly people with very frail bones to ride.

*A special thank you to Marion Elissalde, a dog-owner but not dog-rider, for suggesting Wolf Hounds.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Monday, July 14, 2008

Okay, Alexander, Martin, Ali and myself have been busy since I last posted here. We've got four whole more episodes, and pretty soon, we'll be producing a special episode for Osheaga. The Osheaga podcast you'll be able to get directly from their website, and will include interviews with musicians, artists and other people associated with the festival.

In the meantime, do some catching up with the last couple of episodes... I'll list them in reverse chronological order, or you can go to the main site at www.squarequotes.com or find us on iTunes.

Square Quotes is back with a vengeance, notorious and ever glorious! During our two week hiatus we shuffled off the chains of Suoni per il Popolo and now fly towards the sun like Icarus! This week's episode is packed with summer sounds, summer flicks, and Cancon controversy.

Jordan Robson-Cramer, contributing member of Montreal's Sunset Rubdown and Miracle Fortress visited us and played a song with Rory Seydel (also of Shapes and Sizes) - the newest member of Jordan's long-standing project Magic Weapon.

This episode's musical picks anticipate, welcome, and think about love: its complications, its great bounty. Delegation's Darlin' (I Think About You) appears on their landmark champagne-disco-funk album, 1979's Eau de Vie; ABS dug up Jermaine Jackson's Good for the Gander, which is an unreleased Motown gem produced by Norman Harrison and Ron Tyson; Steely Dan's Dirty Work speaks for itself; Johnny Moped's Darlin' (Let's Have Another Baby) gets straight up paternal; we all love Silver Apples' I Have Known Love (they may be popping up in our city sometime soon - shhh); and Magnum Force speaks to the mood of the moment in Girl, You're Too Cool.

With a turnaround time that would daunt most college radio stations, but is par for the course in the big leagues with major players like Radio Congo, we came up with episode 5. A majestic palace of sophistry, loving communication, and dialogue. Our guests this week were Ken Vandermark, the acclaimed saxophonist whose name you might recognize from Powerhouse Sound and The Flying Luttenbachers; Amber Goodwyn, the publisher of Canada's, nay North America's best smut zine, Lickety Split; and finally, the beloved Claude Bernier, logistics master and jack of all trades with the Suoni per il Popolo festival, who came in to the studio to chat us up, and deliver exclusive Suoni sounds recorded over the course of the festival from Vic Chestnutt and The Sun Ra Arkestra, live at Sala Rossa.

Woah. Well, Square Quotes took our sweet, precious time delivering this, a snapshot of a week or so in the life of a gaggle of Montrealers... First, Sasha Kleinplatz, a Montreal dancer, choreographer and organizer who recently put on a dance event called Piss In the Pool at the dilapidated Bain St. Michel went head-to-head with ABS; after that, we spoke to Billy Mavreas, the garrulous and lovable mensch who runs the Monastiraki Curiosity Shop, and is also a cartoonist who's recently published a graphic novel called Inside Outside Overlap, published by Timeless Books. It's all about dream logic, the murk, and a recent experience at the Helen Pitt Gallery in Vancouver, BC, where he participated in their Workaday series; and finally, Jenny Craig, the hostess and curator of the monthly Greasy Goose salon series discussed the business of talking about things here in Montreal, and let us listen in as local cosmologist Mark Slutsky spoke about ESP. Music? Yep, music again - Art Ensemble of Chicago, Manfred Krug, Mavreas' The Fudge, Ben E. King, and The Soft Boys. All for you, by us.

On episode three of Square Quotes we talk with Alex Moskos of electronic-jam-duo Thames / circuit-twisted pop trio the Unireverse. Afterward we enlist his help in channeling the spirit of afro-futurist jazz artist Sun Ra.

Then Jack Oatmon of the Montreal Mirror stops by to give us the lowdown on Ivan Smagghe's health issues and he manages to squeeze in an interview with Andy Butler of NYC's post-disco group Hercules & Love Affair.

Later on we check in with Phil Elverum, of Mt. Eerie, just before his appearance at the Suoni per il Popolo festival. We play some songs too, like "I Comma Zimba" by Abdullah, the militant Motown musician and "Moliendo Cafe" performed by twelve-piece Romanian brass band Fanfare Ciocărlia. We also get heavy with Pilooski, who channels the high priestess of soul Nina Simone.

For those of you less-inclined to tear up the dancefloor, there are diversions - the Pabst Blue Ribbon vending machine, ol' tyme arcade games, a pool table, a neon light, a fooseball table, and the sparkling wit and genteel conversation of the staff.

Korova received Honourable Mentions in the Best Dance Club and Best Pick Up Club (!!!) category in the Montreal Mirror's Best of 2007 Poll. Nice.

"If that's not your cup of yerba mate, or you're wondering what happened to the rest of the Baile MTL crew, roll around the corner to Korova for a sophisticated evening of Italo, yacht rock, new jack swing and many other esoteric subgenres of pop music you hoped and prayed would be buried under the sands of time until the Internet came along and, well, they started to seem sorta cool again. That's at the AllRounder, with funny guys Jay Watts III and Mark Dufort." - Jack Oatman, Montreal Mirror, 1/31/08

In Episode 2 of Square Quotes, Alexander Buckiewicz-Smith and Jay Watts III continue with extended coverage of the Suoni per il Popolo festival, interviewing artist and musician Grant Hart formerly of Husker Du, and Nova Mob, now solo; and local sculptor, musician and the Rum Tum Tiger of the Mile End, Nader Hassan.

Besides those in-depth portraits, there are songs from The Cake, criminally under-rated group The Feelies, Lord Kitchener, and Barcelona's one-man neo-tropicalia explosion El Guincho. We also recorded local author Adam Gollner, at the launch of his new book on fruit obsessives, “The Fruit Hunters” (at Drawn & Quarterly), as he told the crowd about how some time in Borneo led him to chase after the lady fruit, the famed Coco de Mer, lodoicea/a really crazy fruit.

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

In this inaugural episode of Square Quotes, hosts Alexander Buckiewicz-Smith and Jay Watts III fumble their way through two interviews, while producer Ali Rahman wonders what exactly it is that he’s got himself in to.

The two guests, gracious and forgiving to a fault, were Montrealer Sam Shalabi and Jon Fall Ryan of Brooklyn’s electronic noise-improv sextet, Excepter, both of which will be performing in Montreal as part of the Suoni per il Popolo festival.

The episode features contributions from both interviewed artists, as well as three selections of music picked by the hosts in their quest for obscurantist internet supremacy. Thrill to the sounds of “Guzar Jaye Din,” a Bollywood song from the film “Annadata;” get girl crazy with Chuck Jackson as he exalts the fairer sex in “Girls, Girls, Girls;” and smother yourself in sentimental kitsch with the Portuguesed-American Jeanette as she runs us through “Porque Te Vas.”

More episodes to come, as ABS and JW3 find their footing, and producer Ali continues fretting.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Since last fall, I've been DJing on Saturday nights at Korova here in Montreal. Korova is a 2nd floor bar at 3908 St. Laurent, just above the newly renovated Copacabana, and while it's not the best-looking bar in the city - more like a pretty cute friend who knows how to dress well - and that hand-dryer has yet to be fixed, despite numerous promises from the proprietors, it's received nods of approval from such reputable judges of character as The New York Times and uh, Nylon Magazine.

I find the staff awesome and the people who come there, the majority of which I don't know, to be receptive. Anyway, the format's pretty simple - fun selections of dance-oriented music from all genres with an ear towards Italo, disco, and vintage electro and boogie.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Just take a look around, do you know that many exceptional human beings? Self-actualized uber-mensch sharing the staircase in your crumbling apartment block? Wise sages bagging your groceries? (If that kid was so wise, you think she’d mix put cans of tuna on top of my hothouse tomatoes?)